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‘A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA’

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Jorge Silva/Reuters

Event date


Speaker

  • Joshua KurlantzickCFR Expert
    Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia, Council on Foreign Relations

Presider

  • Max BootCFR Expert
    Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow for National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations

From CFR Fellows Book Launch.

Joshua Kurlantzick discusses his new book, A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA. The book tells the untold story of how the United States‘ secret war in Laos in the 1960s and 1970s, the biggest U.S. covert operation ever, transformed the CIA from a loose collection of spies into a paramilitary organization and a central player in U.S. foreign policy.

The CFR Fellows’ Book Launch series highlights new books by CFR fellows. It includes a discussion with the author, cocktail reception, and book signing.